J and I just got back from an impromptu trip to Mexico and it was incredible. I’m more of a planner so this has to be the most spontaneous thing we’ve ever done. Here’s what happened. We toyed with the idea of going away somewhere for my birthday but J was working on Monday and we decided it didn’t make sense to go from Friday to Sunday since we would really only have one full day. He tried to switch with practically everyone at his job but it just wasn’t possible. There was a very small chance that he would get the day off anyway if the schedule was really slow on Monday but we weren’t counting on it. In case you’re wondering, i’m off until January 5th because my company has a year end SHUT DOWN! It’s amazing.
Fast forward to Friday 3:30pm, J gets a call from work that he did indeed get Monday off. We couldn’t believe it. We quickly started looking around for last minute deals and considered Puerto Rico, Miami, or Mexico. We ended up finding the best deal in Mexico with an all-inclusive resort and a flight that would take off just three hours later. J and I decided that we could really use a break and decided to go for it. We had exactly one hour to pack and get things in order. That hour was insane. We were both running around the house gathering everything we needed while simultaneously in disbelief that this was actually happening. I can remember at several points, we stopped for five seconds and confirmed that this was absolutely crazy. For a few minutes, I wasn’t even sure if we would make our 6:50 PM flight. I like to get to the airport 3 hours in advance for international flights (i’m extremely paranoid) so the entire situation had me on edge.
Because I didn’t have a lot of time to think long and hard about what I was going to pack, I ended up packing very lightly. I normally like to bring a few options with me and decide at the final destination what to wear each night, but I kept it basic this time. I packed a maxi dress (see below!), three bathing suits I could mix and match, (only) three evening outfits, 2 pairs of heels (one black, one red) and flip flops. Normally, I’m sitting on my midsize suitcase trying to close it and full intending on checking it but this time I used the smallest one and had about 25% free space left. It was actually really nice. We saved some time by not checking bags and it was that much easier to pack up on our way back, allowing us to spend more time at the beach Monday morning before our flight back home.
We called our parents, told them we were going to Mexico (they were obviously shocked), closed our suitcases, locked up the house and jumped into a taxi. Luckily, there weren’t many lines at the airport and we arrived at our gate about 10 minutes before it was time to board the plane. The trip itself was exhilarating. Sometimes it’s nice to not have a giant to-do list on your mind. The vacation flew by of course but it was unforgettable. We tried to maximize our time by waking up early and going to bed late. During the day, we went swimming, read, explored, drank (love those all-inclusive resorts and my bloody mary’s!) and even went parasailing! At night, we ate, drank, talked, laughed, listened to live music, and considered ourselves truly lucky to be where we were. I think if one of us stopped and said, “this is insane! We can’t just go to Mexico,” the other person would have said “you’re right, let’s plan to go in a few months” and that would have been the end of it but somehow the momentum of the situation kept us going and we were both excited to seize this opportunity and get away, even for just a few days.
There you have it. We woke up in Philadelphia on Friday thinking it was just another day and went to sleep in beautiful Mexico. I’ve never felt so alive. I give J a lot of credit for being so thoughtful and somehow always figuring out a way to top the previous year’s birthday. I hope when we’re both old and grey we’ll still have the same thirst for adventure and be young at heart enough to be just as willing to pick up and go at a moment’s notice.
My Outfit Details: Dress: Paige Denim (use code YEAREND20 for 20% off all final sale items) | Shoes: River Island, sold out (similar here, here (on sale!) and here)
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